Fresh optimism on trade negotiations and positive corporate earnings set US stocks on pace to hit a new record on Monday and pushed global equities higher.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.4 per cent by lunchtime in New York, extending Friday’s all-time closing high for the index and a 26 per cent run so far this year, while indices in Europe and Asia also edged higher.
A cautious thawing of US-China trade relations boosted the markets after Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, said on Sunday that he was “quite optimistic” the remaining obstacles in the first phase of US trade negotiations with China could be overcome soon, adding that the Chinese and US leaders still planned to meet this month.